


Nice but Not Kind

by volleyball_crow



Series: Haikyuu!! crack drabbles [14]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen, Suga is a ruthless badass and nothing you say will convince me otherwise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-15 16:37:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11234958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/volleyball_crow/pseuds/volleyball_crow
Summary: Daichi blinks. "Team mother? You meanSuga?"The idea is so foreign it really needs clarification, even if it's really obvious that's what Terushima means. "Is that what it looks like?"Terushima grins. "Isn't it? Soft looks, soft spoken, kind and responsible? He's the mom teammate, no doubt."Daichi is certain his face is doing something weird. "I... really,reallywouldn't say so."





	Nice but Not Kind

There's a difference between being nice and being kind, Daichi knows. Not many people make the distinction, but it definitely exists. 

Tanaka, for instance, is kind. He will share what he has, freely offer encouragement, and selflessly provide support. If someone needs help, especially someone he might feel responsibility for, Tanaka will be happy to give any aid he can. He might be rude or rough or indelicate about it, but Tanaka will always instinctively extend a helping hand, because he honestly wants to help, and he enjoys feeling helpful and reliable. He's a good kouhai and teammate. Tanaka is kind.

Suga, though.

"You really have a team mother there, huh?" Terushima from Johzenji chuckles next to Daichi. It's shortly after lunch, and Karasuno's next match will only start in three hours. Daichi doesn't know Johzenji's match schedule, and it's impossible to tell from Terushima's constant relaxation. He could be about to walk into a building on fire and he'd probably still look just as relaxed.

His words startle Daichi, so he follows Terushima's line of sight to where Suga is casually keeping Noya in a headlock while smiling brightly and bowing to a passerby. Daichi blinks.

"Team mother? You mean Suga?" The idea is so foreign it really needs clarification, even if it's really obvious that's what Terushima means. Daichi tilts his head to the side, thoughtful. "Is that what it looks like?"

Terushima grins. "Isn't it? Soft looks, soft spoken, kind and responsible? He's the mom teammate, no doubt."

Daichi is certain his face is doing something weird, probably trying to match his feelings about this idea. He's caught between amusement and something else, not quite embarrassment, but not exactly different either. He looks down and clears his throat, and scratches the side of his temple, suddenly itchy with sweat. "I... really, _really_ wouldn't say so."

He really wouldn't. Suga's first move in any given situation is often retaliation, physical or otherwise. Daichi sees it more as a 'wild animal' thing than a 'mom' thing, and he can't really unsee it. Less often, Suga prefers to retreat and observe and decide how he feels about the situation, which is infinitely preferable, and Daichi wishes Suga would default to that more. Even Suga's encouragement tends to take the form of mild violence (for someone who is not a spiker, his back slaps are _strong_ ) or weird, embarrassing stunts (and somehow everyone goes along with it. It must be the sweet-looking face).

If there's first (or second)-year mischief afoot, as long as it's nothing that will affect the team's training, Daichi never knows if Suga will join in, pretend to be responsible, or just stand back and snark. And oh, does Suga like to snark. Daichi will get gray hairs before high school is done, he just knows it.

Make no mistake, Sugawara is an impressively competent vice-captain. Paperwork, schedules, practice, helping Daichi make decisions, bringing the team together during tough matches, keeping tabs on where every teammate is volleyball-wise and sometimes even emotionally--Suga is a very, very good vice-captain.

Everyone in Karasuno is important to Suga, but the things he does, they don't come from a sentimental place of... parental-like feelings or something. They're the stuff that has to be done for things to go smoothly. And _no one_ will be allowed to stand in the way of things going smoothly, not as long as Suga is around.

There's a difference between niceness and kindness.

Daichi thinks back to his first year, when he hadn't known Suga and Asahi for long and they were all struggling to find their place in Karasuno, and there had been some senpai from the rugby club that had tried to start some shit with them. Typical bully stuff; name-calling, intimidation, teasing, they even tried to start some nasty rumours, which fortunately hadn't really caught on, but had been enough to finally piss off a _certain someone_ beyond any hopes of control.

First-year Suga had dealt with them swiftly. He'd also been ruthless.

Daichi had hung back, watching Suga with the senpai and telling himself he'd be able to do something if his friend started crossing lines he shouldn't, and he'd watched it all happen. Not that he'd been sure what exactly he was witnessing; he'd almost felt like he was in a haze, such was the strength of the... whole experience. The whole thing had been so terrifyingly efficient it was almost brutal.

So one day the senpai had been up to their usual shitty antics, trying to spread another mean rumour about Asahi, and the next day they... weren't. Suga had even given them the chance to make it up to Asahi for their harassment. He'd been very nice about it.

Seeing whatever is on Daichi's face, Terushima's grin widens impossibly. "O _ho_."

Daichi can't help but smile back.

"There's a _reason_ I chose him for my vice-captain."


End file.
